Jesse Jackson Jr. claims the iPad is killing American jobs! [video]

Jesse Jackson Jr. is pointing the finger firmly in the direction of Apple and Steve Jobs, claiming they are responsible for killing American jobs.

It's simple: Because everyone can download books and newspapers, everyone who works at bookstores (he notes Borders going out of business) or the publishing industry, or for textbooks, will lose their jobs to the people making iPads in China.

It seems Jesse Jackson Jr. hasn’t taken into account the amount of jobs Apple has created in many other business areas. Take a look at the video after the break. Then make sure you pop back here and let us know what you think in the comments!

Actually, the private sector union rate sits at approximately right under 7 percent. This percentage of the labor force has been declining slowly over the 50 years. So based on your flawed logic jobs should flooding into the U.S. since union influence on market wage rates continues to weaken.
So if anything your way of thinking is just as unrealistic and irrational. POT meet KETTLE.

Labor unions created better work condition for the American worker. It did make products more expensive, but the trade-off was good for the American society.
In China there are no labor unions, just terrible wages, 12 hour work days, no vacations, and no holydays. Is this a good thing? Would you be willing to work in China?
In the end America gets low priced products, but at what cost? Would you prefer a $1000 iPad and a 2% unemployment rate or a $500 iPad and a 8,8% rate? China has a 4.1% unemployment rate, down from 4.3% last year. Would any american be willing to work for $300 a month? That's typical Foxconn wage.

Everybody is focusing on the iPad reference and not on the underlaying message he was trying to convey, that the continuing quest for low prices is making America export jobs to China.
I think almost everybody actually agrees with him, but is bashing the guy only because he chose an Apple product as example. The point is not the change in the publishing industry, but where the jobs went. When the airlines finished the "horse and buggy industry", Boeing and McDonnell Douglas got the jobs. When gadgets killed the publishing industry, China got the jobs.

New technology makes old technology obsolete, and that includes all jobs that are associated with it, but it creates new jobs in the process. Now it's either we progress or stagnate. It seems Jesse Jr. and several others here are for stagnation. I and many others, however, are for prosperity!

Ya, but he's saying those new jobs created in the process are not in the USA...
If he really wants to complain about overseas jobs, he needs to attach the button-makers....98% of all buttons used in American clothing is from China... What about our button-makers? what will they do now?

Im surprised he hasnt been shot yet, and really to put the blame on Apple, if it was that big of an issue. dont buy it. But I love my Apple and will continue to support it, even if im a homeless bum, I will have my ipad and iphone and apple tv :-)

Last I checked bus/train stations have accessible power outlets... come to think of it the library also... so even a bum (or hobo) can charge their devices! "they" just have to remember to keep their charger.

Although I applaud anyone standing up for American jobs, this gentleman sounds a bit like a Luddite in claims that the "paper" based job industry is being severely hampered due solely to the iPad. It really seems he has an axe to grind w/ Steve Jobs due to Jobs' success, but I don't believe the iPad is the curse of America in terms of jobs, even if it has blessed China!

Aren't we trying to go paperless. He wonders why we think freedom fighters talk too much.
All he's doing is trying to blame steve jobs for something thats not his fault. What about the kindle, what about the nook. This really wasn't well thought out these companies aren't doing anything wrong they're improving our daily lives or atleast trying too with this paperless innovation. What he government should is charge outsourcing companies a high tax every fiscal year so they don't outsource jobs and keep them on our soil.

I would agree with providing disincentives for producing in foreign countries. Keep the jobs here. That's another topic with other problems though.
Other than that, you can't fight technology advances. Those people losing jobs have to keep upgrading their skills.

Predictable response. He does not know the top commandment:
Thou shall not let loose from thy tongue words of blasphemy against thy lord Steve nor any fruity devices which the Tree of Cupertino bears or thou will be smitten with the wrath of the Followers of Jobs in all corners of the internet.

Actually everyone on this blog, the editors and the commenters are idiots.
Real Clear Politics is actually not that clear, it's a conservative leaning political site and this is a political posting to make him look bad, not an analysis of his entire speech. And you all fell for it.
Let's keep politics off this blog and not get suckered into partisan politics please.

Except nobody brought up politics before you did, they brought up simple economics. As time goes by, one industry replaces another, not only in technology but also in the number of jobs, so Jackson's point is completely unfounded. Nobody said a word about politics...

So he wants me as a student to continue to pay over $150 for ONE book?
No thanks. I'm sure he wipes himself with $100s everytime he uses the bathroom but for me as a poor college student, if the ipad had the same book but cheaper price, where does he expect I go?

I think you're missing the context of what he was saying. He was just using the iPad as an example of change going on. He wasn't saying the iPad is 'evil' or anything - he started out by saying he bought one!
I think his point was that there is change going on in the economy that is naturally leading to job losses (happens with any automation or outsourcing) and the government hasn't been doing a good job at stimulating innovation elsewhere in order to try and make up for those job losses. It just wasn't a particularly strong example and of course everyone is going with the Luddite angle.

...and people wonder why the country is in the condition it's in!!! Wow!! Let's see.. 1. The Federal Reserve prints money out of thin air and loans it to the US with interest. 2. The Federal Reserve artificially keeps interest rates low, hence creates housing bubble and collapse. 3. The financial system then on the verge of collapse starting with getting the country into unwinnable wars. 4.The Federal Reserve loans out Trillions and Trillions of dollars (from printed money) bailing out all their Wall street friends. 5.Unemployment out of control from Federal Reserve greedy criminal actions. 6.States and Country becomes bankrupt. 7. LET'S BLAME STEVE JOBS AND THE IPAD FOR UNEMPLOYMENT!!!!!! NICE!!!

I agree with MrC, but what jesse's saying is bad is actualy what should happen. If we move away from harmful paper, and become more efficient, then we'll have more time to innovate, therefore creating new industries, andcadvancing, therefore creating more jobs.

At no point did he say that the move toward electronic reading was bad, he was simply saying that it's happening. Most of the commentors here have allowed the erroneous wording of the title to frame their perception of what the congressman is saying.

Apparently he forgot to point out the huge number of jobs apple continues to expand and provide, and the fact that borders has been in decline long before the ipad or other devices like it. Just like a leftist to try to put the blame on a industry and hope government will come to the rescue.

Wow. Those are some nice presentation materials. He must have had them delivered with the Pony Express hot off the Gutenberg.
Pony Express fell to the telegraph. Borders fell to Kindle (not Apple, dumass).
Instead of printing a book, how's about one learn to write an app? Like and app that allows idiots to surmise their own errata.

It's called obsolescence, this happens all the time. New things replace old things, that's how our society works. Why would anyone want a bookshelf filled with books when they can have a tablet that can hold more books than a library? Why would anyone want to wait a week to read a news story when they can read it right then and there on their computer?
Years ago, people made buggy whips. And you can bet that the last company to make buggy whips made the best one you ever saw. But the things is, those companies are dead, there were going to die when someone made a carriage that could run on it's own power. Everything meets and end, computers will one day be replaced by tablets and that's coming in the next few years.
Might as well blame the computer for killing the typewriter or blame Netflix for killing Blockbuster. Borders, and Blockbuster for that matter, are going under because they failed to adapt to new and evolving technology. They're going under because of their own arrogance, thinking that streaming media or ebooks wouldn't take off like they did and therefore they were left behind and spread out their resources too thin to try to keep up.
Jesse Jackson, both of them, are morons. They have no idea what they're talking about, they have no idea how things work and if things were left up to people like them, we would still be in the stone-age. If we tuned back time, they would say the same thing when computers were replacing typewriters, or that cars were replacing horse and carriages. In fact, let's go way back in time, they would say that the printing press was killing the jobs of the people who had to write books. No matter what, these morons would have something to say about something.

He is correct, it is hurting jobs but at the same time it is the company's fault they have not moved or changed with time. As technology advances, so should your company and focus. It is now 2011, if you are still operating your business as if it is 1950 you will go under.

Well, actually, it's called Globalization, and that includes not only markets and capitals, but jobs as well...
Problem is more closely related to lack of overpopulation policies and bad politicians across the ponds and is a direct result of the unfair richness distribution caused by the colonialist drive that lasted 5 centuries...
My three cents.

Perhaps if we didn't live in a Nanny state with cradle-to-grave entitlements, there would be more of an incentive for Americans to work for a wage that makes American manufacturing competitve in a global economy. As long as it is more profitable (and easier) for individuals to stay at home and collect a government check, many will do just that.
Sent from my iPad

Does Jesse Jackson Jr. also agree that deploying troops on one end of the island of Guam will tip it over. He seems to have gone to the same school as the famous House member who was worried about that happening.
Didn't we loose a lot of street cleaner jobs when the Automobile replaced the horse. No more horse dung to clean up from the roads. To bad Jesse wasn't around back then to save all those dung cleaners jobs. Maybe when he looses his house job he should apply to clean up horse dung from roads, he seems to be qualified to fling that type of stuff around. (I am trying to be politically correct in describing these jobs since we are dealing with politicians)

Does anyone else find it extremely ironic that this is the very same guy who just a few weeks ago wanted the US Government to amend the constitution and make it possible to give each and every student an iPad…?!?
The same one who a few weeks ago claimed "These devices are revolutionizing our country — and they will fundamentally alter how we will educate our children."
Check it out: http://bit.ly/gD4sY6

Blame iPad for destroying jobs? In that case, I also blame Nook, kindle and any other e-reader for killing jobs. While I'm at it, blame iTunes, Napster, Zune Marketplace and Amazon for destroying jobs in the music industry, blame netflix for taking jobs in the movie rental arena, Hulu for cable TV.
You know what... just blame the internets! You can't download ANYTHING without the internet! Darn you internet!

What. An. Idiot. This is great case of nearsightedness. He's not the only one. There are many who think the loss of blue-collar jobs is a tragedy, but fail to see all the self-employed (like devs) and white-collar jobs that have been created.

This is a bad blog post. The erroneous title and clear misunderstanding of what Mr. Jackson was saying (or maybe none of you actually watched it lol) has led to a lot of ignorance being spewed. Stick to apple fanboyism TiPB. thumbs down

I think he's just mad because the person that sold him his iPad told him it was the iPad 2 but it was really the iPad 1. Now he's all mad cause he's dumb, but naturally finds something else to blame it on.
Posted from my jobkilling iPad! Take that outsourcing!

I disagree. People will see the frustration of the limited selection the iBook store has. Also, most prefer an actual book in their hand or at least I do. I dont do my reading of book on my iPhone nor iPad. Why, battery, other usage. You have the display on wasting battery plus, I know people use these devices for other uses. I plus, the books are sometimes twice as much. Apple will never replace the need for the ancient old necessity, that is books

Ag - I hit this article when searching for info on why the iBookstore is missing so many necessary titles because of your comment. Interesting. You were right about about one thing, but i am going to have to disagree with almost everything else. Have you considered the amount of energy it takes to make one book? The electricity and machines used in making a book plus the raw materials and shipping amounts to the consumption of far more resources than charging your iPad to read a book. I understand the nostalgia of reading a book and I believe there will always be a market for print like there is for vinyl records today, I have large collections of both... But the digital sales of books will continue to increase, second hand specialty bookstores will stay in business and large brick and mortar stores will close their doors. Goodbye book sellers, hello content and merchandising managers, developers and tech support :)

I think this guy is kind of out of line blaming ipads for the un-employment rate in the US, times change, before we were making cars with our bare hands now about 95% of a car is made by machine. And also that whole bit about china is a little ridiculous too, as americans id say probably about 80 to 90 % of our household products are made in a foreign country including the vehicles we drive.. I feel that this country is in bad shape because of suit wearing millionaires that blame iPads for job loss and un-employment... hahaha... Makes me laugh.

chris i do not disagree with you but please learn to back up your statements... when you say "JJ Jr. hasn’t taken into account the amount of jobs Apple has created in many other business areas" you need to support that by listing 1 or a few examples.

When the printing press was invented, scribes had to find new jobs too.
The question for America is if jobs are really wanted. There is a whole world now competing for jobs, and international companies, are, well, international. The other option is to try to ride entitlements and fake money until it all runs out and the real bubble pops. So far, it looks like the latter. The US govt is running over-budget by like $50k / second and the idiots (in both parties) are arguing over whether they are going to cut like 0.25% or 1-2% of their spending. How about we cut enough so we're not over budget? How about we cut enough and tax enough more so that actually paying off the debt? Sheesh!

OMG what about the poor horseshoe and buggy whip makers? These new fangled motor vehicles will put them all out of business and their employees will never find jobs.
This is the wort kind of pollital rhetoric, but if you mention a hot tech product in your speech you are sure to see it on more channels than C-SPAN.

Uh... the dude is using Trajan on poster boards... who does he think he is, Moses with the Ten Commandments?!
And what becomes of publishing companies? The publishing companies that rewrite history, make 20lb books, and make minor, MINOR tweaks just so they can release a new edition to screw everyone out of even more money?? I guess he never suffered a back injury because he lugged around four or five textbooks to and from school everyday for 10 years.

Not to get too political here, but don't most Dems (Tree Huggers) want us to save the rain forest and quit using so much paper?
Oh, that's right, they want us to keep all the workers employed but quit printing also. That way they have their cake and can eat it too!

Why does he think people need Congress to give them jobs? Are people incapable now of finding interviews on their own, developing skills that employers want, and making their own way in the world? This concept of having Americans so dependent on government is just sickening.